This invention relates to a method and apparatus of delivering or transporting wine in bulk from its source at the winery to retail customers without at any time exposing the wine to the atmosphere until it is ultimately poured into a glass or other container for the retail consumer.
The prior art methods of transporting wine in bulk form from wineries to retail establishments throughout the country and to the comsumer expose the wine to the atmosphere at one or more times during the process. One of the occasions when the bulk wine is exposed to air is when it has reached the retail establishment in the customary four liter glass jugs which are now used, and the employees in the retail establishment then pour the wine from the glass jugs into the dispensing canisters connected to the taps or faucets which fill the wine glasses and carafes for the end use customers. The wine is exposed to air when it is poured from the four liter glass jugs into the dispensing canisters. The wine left in the glass jugs therefore is exposed to oxygen and possible contaminants from the air which gets into the jugs before they are recapped, and the same with the wine that has been poured into the dispensing canisters. Wine that has been exposed to the air will begin to oxidize, even small amounts of pollutants in the air can contaminate the wine, yeast particles can begin to form in the containers, and the quality of the wine begins to deteriorate in a general sense once the container it is in has been exposed to the surrounding atmosphere.
There is also the question of the legality in some states of pouring alcoholic beverages from one container into another. There are also problems in complying with food and health codes when open to the air containers are used.
These problems have been solved by the present invention which keeps the bulk wine completely sealed throughout the entire delivery chain until it is poured into the consumer's glass. It also eliminates the need for the glass jugs now used in the existing method for delivering bulk wine from the wholesale distributor to the retail establishments, or for other similar wholesaler to retailer containers. In accordance with this invention, air-sealable canisters are filled by the wholesaler for sale to the retailer, of appropriate size and having air-sealable nozzles for direct connection to the dispensing lines in the retail establishment and to the pressurized nitrogen tank without exposing the wine in such canisters to the air.